Quick review of our 4/19 Empress Cruise to Cuba

[TERTOG]

This is my first review after 37 cruises, but since Cuba is a new destination, I thought I would share my thoughts. First, let me preface this by saying any cruise is a good cruise, if you have a good attitude and can relax. The Empress is the smallest ship we've sailed on, since the late 90's, when our first cruise was on the Seabreeze. We went with an open mind and can say for the most part we enjoyed it. The flaws without getting into a lot of discussion were the cabin steward and food quality. Entertainment for the most part was good and with the exception of one bar, bar service was good to excellent.

For the inaugural Cuba cruise, we were greeted at check in with live Latin music and smiles. Check in was painless, On the way to the ship, they offered Cuban coffee. On boarding the ship, there was a live Latin/Cuban band and waiters passing out Cuba Libres or rum punch. Cabins were ready at 1:00.

Muster drill lasted maybe 5 minutes and everyone's conversations continued throughout. Sailaway was on time. First seaday was rainy. Not many activities going on- a Cuba lecture, Bingo, dance classes,etc.

Men feel free to wear your shorts to the dining room- at least a third did. There was not a formal night.

Costa Maya- we went to Maya Chan and had a relaxing day. Second sea day- rainy in the morning but beautiful sunny afternoon. We had a second Cuba lecture.

Now comes the reason for the cruise. Early Sunday morning, we were up at sunrise to greet the pilot and sail into Havana. It was one of the most picturesque arrivals I can remember. Imagine our surprise at seeing the MSC Opera already docked (it does roundtrips out of Havana). We pulled in on the other side of the building and were greeted by the officials. Then came the fun(not). All shore excursions were delayed 30 minutes with the majority meeting in the Royal Theater and disembarking right next to it. When our time came, we exited the ship and immediately got into one of the many lines for immigration. You go through immigration one individual at a time- present your passport and visa and have your picture taken. They keep the visa, give you back your passport and you move on. This takes a while when almost the entire ship is disembarking at the same time. The terminal has multiple booths for currency exchange. To reconvene with your tour group or tour on your on, you exit the building by going down 42 steps. If you're on a ship excursion, you exit into a covered area and wait on the rest of the group to arrive before boarding the bus. There are multiple buses for all the different tours and everyone's experience is different. We were on the half-day Old Havana City tour which officially commenced at 10:04. We got off the ship at 9:15 to give you an idea how long it takes. Our tour did not follow the scheduled itinerary. Others did. Our first stop was the Christ museum, followed by a stop at a fort where the sole purpose was to buy cigars and rum. No tour of the fort. There were 2 on our bus that requested to see the synagogue so that added a good 30 minutes. Some wanted to see the Revolution Museum. It would have been a quick stop but somehow we lost 5 people and had to spend additional time waiting on them. The visit to the cemetery was wonderful. The last stop was at the market(think Nassau Straw market with people grabbing at you). We opted at that time to drop out of the tour(it was at the 5 hour mark), caught a pedicab into town and explored on our own, Had a late lunch at El Floridita and shopped in the few stores that were open on a Sunday.

Got back to the ship, exchanged our CUC's to dollars, went through immigration and reboarded the ship.

Havana is a wonderful vibrant city with friendly people. Very walkable as long as you don't require more than a cane. We can't wait to return, but are pretty certain it won't be on the Empress.

[happythoughts]

Thank you for your review. Do you happen to me know the earliest that passengers were allowed off the ship if they were doing a private tour?

[voyager70]

Thank you for sharing this. Very helpful.

[SilkySal]

Thanks for sharing and please tell me if the Empress docked on the port or starboard side of the ship; which side was facing the port/land, so I can pick my cabin!! Thanks again!;)

[TERTOG]

Since this was the first cruise, I'm not sure how long future cruises will take to disembark. I would allow an hour from the time you arrive.

[TERTOG]

Thanks for sharing and please tell me if the Empress docked on the port or starboard side of the ship; which side was facing the port/land, so I can pick my cabin!! Thanks again!;)

We docked with the starboard side against the terminal building. Be advised that the lifeboats block any direct view down from the deck 9 balconies.

[SilkySal]

We docked with the starboard side against the terminal building. Be advised that the lifeboats block any direct view down from the deck 9 balconies.

 

Yes, I thought the SB side might be best. If the view on deck 9 balconies is blocked, which deck might have a better view? Maybe 8 or 7? Not sure where the lifeboats are located. Thanks again and sorry for the ??????'s!!:o

[Peeker28]

I appreciate your review, thank you. I would like to do this cruise but I'm not sure I will really like the small ship feel I mostly sail on Oasis or Quantum class.

[TERTOG]

Yes, I thought the SB side might be best. If the view on deck 9 balconies is blocked, which deck might have a better view? Maybe 8 or 7? Not sure where the lifeboats are located. Thanks again and sorry for the ??????'s!!:o

Other than the forward and aft suites, the only balconies are on deck 9. I'm not sure how good of a view you would have from an outside cabin because of the lifeboats. Sailing into the harbor, the starboard side faces Old Havana.

[easyboy]

Thank you for the review.

[monorail81]

How long does it take to reboard the ship? Also, do they stamp your passport?

[monorail81]

One more thing...is there a charge when converting the money BACK to USD or whichever currency?

 

 

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[TERTOG]

How long does it take to reboard the ship? Also, do they stamp your passport?

Less than 10 minutes to re board. They stamp your passport on arrival but not departure.

[TERTOG]

One more thing...is there a charge when converting the money BACK to USD or

 

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Not sure above fees. We converted 190 euros for 193 CUC's. Upon return, we converted 70 CUC's to roughly 64 US. Much better exchange rate for euro's. Also never had to show my passport when exchanging money.

[monorail81]

Less than 10 minutes to re board. They stamp your passport on arrival but not departure.

 

 

 

Not sure above fees. We converted 190 euros for 193 CUC's. Upon return, we converted 70 CUC's to roughly 64 US. Much better exchange rate for euro's. Also never had to show my passport when exchanging money.

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

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